Harness for parachute delivery of ammunition boxes



Feb. 25, 1947. H; wlLsoN x-:T-AL.

HARNESS FOR PARACHUTE DELIYERY OF AMMUNITION BOXESv Filed Nov. 27, V1942 Patented Feb. 25, 1947 HARNESS FOR PARACHUTE vDELIVERY OF AMMUNITION BOXESV Harry Wilson, Dayton, Ohio, and William P.

Yarborough, Staunton, Va.

Appiication November 27, 19.42, s'eriai'no. 461,160]

1 Claim- (Granted under the act of Marchamended April. 30, 1928;` 370 O.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without` payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to apparatus for the delivery of ammunition boxes from aircraft by parachute, and specifically to a quickly removable sling, or harness for supporting the box on the parachute during delivery.

Resort is usually had to this method of delivery to ground troops only under extreme necessity as where a number of troops are isolated from the main lines and are under enemy fire, in which case it is desirable that they be exposed for a minimum period of time in opening the box.

It is therefore an object of the' invention to provide a device of this kind which is simple and effective and of low cost and which may be opened and removed from the box in the shortest possible time and with the least possible effort.

Other objects and advantages will be recognized upon consideration of the description and drawing, in which Figure 1 is a phantom perspective view of an ammunition box supported in our improved harness with a parachute pack connected to the harness all ready for aerial delivery.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 after delivery and before removing the harness from the box.

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the apparatus after the single coupling is undone and the harness is partly removed.

Like reference characters are employedto des ignate like parts throughout the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, the harness I which engirds the box I2 is made up of one long strap I4,preferably of strong cotton webbing or flat wire rope which passes endwise around the box, and two shorter straps I6 preferably of the same material which surround the box crosswise near the ends.

The shorter straps I6 are brought to a proper size to surround the box, but not too tightly and are then stitched to this size so as to form endless belts around the box. These endless belts are purposely without adjustment for size, the size to which they are permanently stitched being as shown in Fig. 3, where the bottom portion Which crosses underneath the box may remain in the Working position, while the topportion which crosses the top of the box may be stripped off the end of the box as shown. They are further per-1 manently stitched to the long strap Where they cross it both on the undersideat 20, and on the 3 1883, as. G.; 757) upper side. at 22.. The size to which the e-ndlessv belts are. permanently stitchedv and the distance from. the endv of the box` at which they are. stitched to the long strapv are important features. of the invention.

Intermediate the crossover 22, preferably about midway therebetween, the ends of the long strap I4 are brought together and each end provided with one member of a quick-action coupling 24.. The long strap I4 should` encircle the box I2 with just enough freedomy to. allow the coupling 24, Fig. 2, to be undone as in Fig. 3, and there should be no means of adjusting. the length of the strap. This is also an important feature of the invention.

Stitched into the webbing, at the cross-over positions 22, are two D rings 26 into which the spring snaps 28 of the parachute risers 30 are hooked. The parachute pack, shown closed in Figure 1, comprises an outer cover 32, Fig. 1, which telescopes over an inner cover 34, Figure 2, to enclose the canopy 36, the telescoping covers being tacked together at several spots by light break threads 38, and the top of the canopy also being fastened by the usual break cord (not shown) to the inside of the outer cover 32. A static line 42 has one end attached to the outside of the outer cover 32 and a snap fastener 4i for securing the other end to an anchor on the aircraft. The risers 30 enter the pack between the telescoped walls of the inner and outer covers 3'4 and 32 as shown, and are attached in the usual manner to the shroud lines of the canopy. A stiffening board 46 is built into the bottom of the inner cover 34 and strips 48 of narro-w webbing on the edges ofthis board are tied around the short strips I6 for holding the pack and the harness together until delivery is effected. The static line is laid in a series of loops and tied with a break thread 49 pending the launching of the apparatus.

In employing our improved apparatus for aerial I delivery, the device is packed and arranged as in Figure 1 and stored in the aircraft. When the objective is reached, the snap fastener 44 is attached to the anchor on the aircraftand the device is dropped. The thread 49 rst breaks, allowing the loops of the static line to be `undone until the static line tautens and breaks' the threads 38 whereupon the outer cover 32 is drawn from the inner cover 34. Further dropping' off-the box I2 straightens out the canopy 36 aiid'breaks the break cord (not shown), which'severs the top of the canopy from the insider'of the top cover 32. The canopy now opens'andl retards the fall conditions permit, the parachute canopy maybe salvaged by unhooking the spring snaps 28 from.

the D rings 26.

It will now be apparent that, ifthere was anyv adjustment to the endless belts I 6, the party preparing the device would almost surely adjust it too tightly to permit stripping the belts overthe end of the box as in Fig. 3. Moreover, if the points of stitching 20, 22, were too far rom ,the end of the box, the beltscould not be stripped oi Aas in Fig. 3. Still further, if the strapl I4 were `provided with means to adjust its length, it would likely be adjusted'too close to permit undoing of the coupling 24 without some delay. The essence of the invention resides in theV non-adjustable endless belts I S made just large enough and stitched top and bottom just far enough Vfrom the ends of the box to permit stripping 01T as in Fig. 3, and the non-adjustable strapV I4 made just long enough to allow freedom of undoing of the coupling 24, Fig. 3, without delay.

Having described our invention, We claim: VApparatus for parachute delivery of ammunition boxes, which comprises a harness consistingof two endless belts loosely surrounding the box crosswise of its length and at predetermined distances from its ends, and a single non-adjustable strap surrounding the box lengthwise mid-Y way of its Width, the two ends of the strap beingbrought togetherintermediate the said endless belts and provided at each of the'ends with a part of a quick-acting fastener, the belts and the strap being permanently stitched together where they cross both on the top and on the bottom of the box, the eilective length of the belts being slightly greater than the periphery of the box and their .distances from the ends of the box at which they are stitched being such that, when the coupling is undone, the portion of the belts which cross the top of the box may be stripped over the ends of the box, while the portions which cross the bottom of the box remain in their working position.

WILLIAM P. AYAR'BOROUG-H.Y

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,944,801 Nichols Nov. '7, 1929 618,333 Colteryahn Jan. 24, 1899 544,070 Phelan Aug. 6, 1895 548,270 Pitner Oct. 22, 1895 902,695 Staley Nov. 3, 1908 HARRY WILSON. 

